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Advocacy Research

AAFA supports maximizing basic, clinical, preventive and health services research funding. This includes supporting increased research funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ) and other agencies that conduct research relevant to asthma and allergic diseases.

Investment in Research Saves Lives and Money

Research!America and AcademyHealth have created fact sheets on different health issues to demonstrate the social and economic impact of medical and health research:

From Research!America:

From AcademyHealth:

Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is a non-profit, non-government organization located in Washington, D.C. PCORI was authorized by Congress in 2010 with a mission to improve the quality and relevance of health research. PCORI works to improve healthcare by funding clinical research and to support work that will improve the research process.

PCORI aims to address the questions and concerns of patients, to learn how we can improve healthcare and to enable patients to make stronger healthcare decisions.

As part of PCORI’s work on asthma, the organization has created a network of researchers, patients, caregivers and other community health partners called the Asthma Evidence to Action Network. Visit PCORI’s website for:

  • Information about the network’s members and projects
  • Patient stories and videos
  • Other online resources to improve patient partnerships in research

The Precision Medicine Initiative

Many medical treatments are designed with the perspective that “one size fits all” – or that what works for one patient will work for another. Medical therapies and medications are often created to be applied to the “average” patient, without taking into account a patient’s unique lifestyle, genetic background or environment. The Precision Medicine Initiative is a research effort that aims to change the way we treat diseases – by recognizing that an individual’s behavior, biology and environment play a critical role in determining health outcomes.

Launched by President Obama as part of his 2016 Budget, the Precision Medicine Initiative would advance healthcare by creating treatments that are tailored to the specific patient. When therapies are more precise, side effects and adverse reactions are reduced – while the likelihood of a treatment being successful increases.

As part of this project, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will create a research cohort (group of participants) of a million or more volunteers to help improve our understanding of health and disease. Participants will be involved in the design of the Initiative and will have the chance to contribute their data. NIH recently invited the public to comment on part of this work. Individuals agreeing to be part of the national participant group would share their genetic data, biological samples and diet/lifestyle information, which could be linked to their electronic health records. Tell the NIH what you think about the project!

Learn more about the Precision Medicine Initiative:

Patient Advocacy